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Werner has since stated that the hoodie was a joke and has defended himself against allegations of racism in this video statement.

Original Story:

Vital Remains vocalist Brian Werner looks set to overtake Emmure frontman Frankie Palmeri in the offensive shirt department. Werner has been teasing the fall line from his Xcommunicated Clothing company via his Facebook recently. While the company already offers a standard assortment of religion bashing shirts, the new line looks to take it to the next level. One of the new shirts he plans to sell (see below) features notorious cannibal/sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer.

But it is an already deleted posting of a potential hoodie he intends to release that has seen him draw criticism. That hoodie features the name ‘Trayvon’ in an urban/graffiti-styled font on the front with blood splattered bullet holes adorning it. The words ‘Stand Your Ground’ are printed in a bold white font on the back. Announcing the shirt, Werner posted:

“This picture is getting deleted in an hour as to save the surprise for when the time is right. But this is just awesome so here is a sneak peak at the new Xcommunicated Clothing coming out this fall.

‘The Trayvon’ – COMING SOON!!!”

The hoodie of course refers to 17-year old Trayvon Martin, who unarmed when he was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch coordinator named George Zimmerman following an alleged altercation between the pair. Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground statute‘ played a role in Zimmerman‘s defense in the ensuing court proceedings.

Given that the tagline for Werner‘s clothing line is “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”, one could argue that the print could be a provocative think piece or commentary on the situation. However, given the predilection for shock value found in his other designs, this is probably not the intention.